What to do with the stuff in your refrigerator. How to cook it, transform its leftovers or throw it at someone.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Staleness with a Side of Fried Rice

My favorite adventures in cooking happen when something goes wrong and then goes very deliciously right. Such was the case last week.

I like brown rice for its heartiness. White rice can become kind of mushy, I like it, but it's just kind of there - without personality or anything to say. It's the bimbo in rice class. Brown rice is like that nerdy girl that maybe doesn't go with the crowd, but you know she's always right and when she cleans up she's actually really pretty.

Ok, that went a weird direction but you get my point.

Brown rice offers more than regular rice in taste and in nutrition. As a plus it usually keeps pretty well. Sadly, due to overcooking, mine did not. The day after I made it, I went to heat it up for my lunch but when I finally bit into it, it was awful. So stale and flavorless, I spit it out. Yet, as always my mother's daughter, I couldn't let it go to waste. Luckily, I remembered watching a cooking show that said that when you make fried rice it needs to be stale so it can absorb all the liquids and flavors. Then I remembered I don't have soy sauce. Oh, well.

To the frying pan!

Fried Brown Rice with Green Things

Serves 2

5 tblsp canola oil and extra for rice

2 eggs

1 tblsp minced ginger

1 tblsp minced garlic

2 cups (more or less) day-old brown rice

1 cup frozen peas

2 tblsp chopped cilantro

Salt and pepper

Heat 5 tblsp of canola oil over medium-high heat then whisk the eggs really well and add to hot oil. Eggs should immediately start to puff up.Swish around for a little bit until eggs are completely cooked, but without too many brown spots. This happens FAST so no sleeping at the wheel.

Remove egg from heat, reserving some of the cooking oil in the pan, and place egg on a plate with paper towels to absorb excess oil.

Add about a tablespoon of oil and lower heat to medium. Add garlic and ginger and cook for about a minute until soft and fragrant. Add brown rice and stir to coat with oil.

Add frozen peas and cook just until rice and peas have heated through. Take off the heat and add cilantro and egg then salt and pepper to taste.

This makes a great side dish or midnight snack. So go forth and ruin some rice.